Educating for a sustainable future: police students’ experiences and expectations

Introduction Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a legal and strategic priority in Norwegian higher education, yet its integration in police education remains unclear. This study explores how Norwegian police students perceive sustainability in their training and what expectations they have for future learning. We posed the following research questions: (1) What have police students learned, directly or indirectly, that may promote sustainable development? and (2) To what extent do Police students wish to learn more about sustainability, and in which areas? Methods We employed a qualitative, explorative and descriptive study design, and conducted semistructured interviews with 11 police students from the Norwegian Police University College, representing all years of the bachelor program. Interviews focused on students’ experiences with sustainability-related learning and their aspirations for future education. Results Findings reveal that sustainability is not explicitly addressed in the curriculum. Social and economic sustainability is covered indirectly through content on human rights, diversity, procedural justice, corruption and cybercrime, while environmental perspectives receive minimal attention. Students expressed strong interest in more explicit and practice-oriented ESD, particularly on environmental crime, and emphasized the need to embed sustainability early and systematically across courses, linking it to operational policing tasks. Discussion These insights highlight a discrepancy between policy ambitions and educational practice, offering improvement opportunities for professional preparedness and institutional legitimacy. Strengthening sustainability education in policing could enhance competence, support trust, and equip officers to address complex societal challenges. The study contributes to emerging research on ESD in professional education and offers recommendations for curriculum development at the Norwegian Police University College (NPUC).